Unusual

The new job is more engaging. I'm no longer permanently drowsy. Now it's heartburn and tension headaches. I still fall asleep as soon as I get home though. Already, It's dark in the morning at my departure and dark in the evening upon my return. 

Stark terror on the telephone this morning. A friend calls from out of the past. He is sorry to tell me that my brother has died in his sleep. He is crying. What? I say. What? What?

He keeps talking. My mind has seized. The world is upside down. What? I realize asking that question over and over is not obtaining any more clarity for me. Tell me the name of the person you are talking about, I think I said. When he did, it was not the name of my brother. I started breathing again.

But it was the name of his brother. He misdialed in calling me thinking he was calling his second brother. For less than a second I felt relief, but his grief was right there, too heavy and new for me to distance myself from. His world had turned upside down with me looking in.